Venona


The U.S. Army's Signal Intelligence Service, the precursor to the National Security Agency, began a secret program in February 1943 later codenamed VENONA

The mission of this small program was to examine and exploit Soviet diplomatic communications but after the program began, the message traffic included espionage efforts as well.

Although it took almost two years before American cryptologists were able to break the KGB encryption, the information gained through these transactions provided U.S. leadership insight into Soviet intentions and treasonous activities of government employees until the program was canceled in 1980.

The VENONA files are most famous for exposing Julius (code named LIBERAL) and Ethel Rosenberg and help give indisputable evidence of their involvement with the Soviet spy ring.

The first of six public releases of translated VENONA messages was made in July 1995 and included 49 messages about the Soviets' efforts to gain information on the U.S. atomic bomb research and the Manhattan Project. Over the course of five more releases, all of the approximately 3,000 VENONA translations were made public.

ImageTitle
 10FEB_PERCH_SURNAME2.PDF1. Request for "PERCH's" surname. 2. Reference to award made to "ZOYA" and "MAY"
 09JAN_ROGEN_INFORMED_P2.PDF1. Rogen informed by Norwegian colleague "Kh" (Henriksen) of arrest of Norwegian agents 2. Posting and replacement of "Kh" (Henriksen) 3. STIG's expected arrival (1944) (More complete version of a VENONA 5th release document)
 09AN_ROGEN_INFORMED_P1.PDF1. ROGEN informed by Norwegian colleague of arrest of Norwegian agents; 2. Posting and replacement of; 3. STIG's expected arrival
 13JUN_PALM_NESTOR.PDF1. Undesirability of making presents to "PALM"; 2. Reference to "NESTOR's" plan of action 13 June (Release 5)
 5SEP_WRITERS_REPORT.PDF1. Writer's report 2. Illicit w/t communications from Stanley and Muse
 10JUN_EFIN.PDF10JUN_EFIN.PDF
 11OCT_GOMER.PDF11OCT_GOMER.PDF
 12APR_PASSWORD_FOR_MTG.PDF12APR_PASSWORD_FOR_MTG.PDF
 12APR_SANTO.PDF12APR_SANTO.PDF
 12MAR_US_ARMY_UNITS.PDF12MAR_US_ARMY_UNITS.PDF
 12SEP_AUSTRALIAN_PRESS.PDF12SEP_AUSTRALIAN_PRESS.PDF
 13AUG_SPECIAL_STUDY.PDF13AUG_SPECIAL_STUDY.PDF
 14NOV_VEST.PDF14NOV_VEST.PDF
 15APR_CONTACT_WITH_CLAUDE.PDF15APR_CONTACT_WITH_CLAUDE.PDF
 15MAY_SHEPEK.PDF15MAY_SHEPEK.PDF
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